Needy children receive free surgeries

Surgeons at the French-invested FV Hospital in HCM City today begins operating on 26 children with tumours and congenital deformities of the hands.

The surgery will be conducted until Sunday at an estimated cost of VND700 million (US$35,000), and sponsored by the Children of Viet Nam Charitable Fund.

The children are from needy families in the southern provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Long An and Binh Duong.


Two int’l companies commit to reducing drug prices
Two foreign pharmaceutical companies have agreed to reduce the prices of their products in Vietnam, said the Drug Administration of Vietnam.  

Accordingly, the Austrian Ebewe Pharma company will cut the prices of 16 of its 31 products by 5-12 percent and the French Laboratories Servier will lower prices by 7 percent for Diamicron, the medicine for diabetes treatment and 10 percent for Vastaren to cure heart diseases.

The multi-national company, GlaxoSmithKline, is also considering reducing prices of antibiotics for adults and children.

The three companies also pledged to ensure the supply sources meet the demand for medical treatment in Vietnam.


Australia to fund joint research on poverty

Australian and Vietnamese experts plan to undertake research into economic integration and poverty reduction with funds from Australia.

The grants, which were announced last Wednesday, will be provided through the Australian International Science Linkages – Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Academies programme.

The University of New South Wales' Australian School of Taxation will work with the Viet Nam Development and Policies Research Centre to conduct research on international economic integration and child poverty.

The second project on the global economic crisis, Australia-Viet Nam trade and regional integration will be implemented by Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Economic Studies and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade's Institute for Trade.


City customs officials destroy opium

The HCM City Customs Department last Friday destroyed 18 tonnes of opium poppy seeds that had been imported under a false customs declaration in 2008.

In October 2008, the Singapore-based Kdy Pte Ltd Company submitted an import declaration form, saying that the 18-tonne shipment was for "plant seeds to be used to produce foodstuff".

The Sai Gon Port Customs Division inspected the shipment, and later scientific tests revealed that they were opium poppy seeds.


Gathering marks global day for disabled persons

More than 2,000 disabled people gathered at a meeting in Ha Noi to mark the International Day for Persons with Disabilities which fell on Saturday.

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dam Huu Dac said Viet Nam had 6.7 million disabled people, accounting for 7.8 per cent of the total population.

The Law on People with Disabilities, which would take effect on January 1 next year, showed the Party and State cared for them and testified to the country's commitment to the Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Dac said.

The law and guiding sub-documents would also create a better environment for the disabled, helping them take part in social activities and integrate into the community equally and enjoy improved mental and material life, he said.

US Ambassador to Viet Nam Michael Michalak spoke highly of the Vietnamese Government's efforts in working with international partners, including the US, to boost supporting activities, improve the lives of the disabled and ensure they had the opportunity to fully take part in social life.


Five accidents tie up highway traffic

Five successive car accidents brought traffic to a standstill for 15 hours last weekend where National Road 1 passes through central Thua Thien-Hue Province's Phu Loc District.

Cars and trucks lined the road for more than 10 kilometres through the district's Loc Thuy and Loc Tien communes and Lang Co Town.

The first accident took place on Saturday evening when a southbound bus lost control and got caught in the banister of Nuoc Ngot Bridge.

Half an hour later, around 1km from the first accident, a bus rear-ended a car, severely injuring the driver.

Immediately following the second accident, the axle of a northbound truck broke on Phuoc Tuong Mountain Pass, which is 3km from the bridge. Another truck spun around in the middle of the road when the driver lost control.

And finally, a heavily loaded truck got a flat tire at the southern mountain pass shortly after the fourth accident.

Traffic returned to normal yesterday afternoon.


HCM City plans fireworks and flowers for Tet holiday

Fifteen minutes of fireworks will be displayed at 7 locations and many flower markets will open for the coming lunar New Year (Tet holiday) in HCM City.

Under programmes approved by the HCM City People’s Committee, the City’s Nguyen Hue road will be decorated with flowers carrying themes of integration and development.

The Tet cake festival will be held at the Hung Kings Monument, the Ho Chi Minh Museum, and the Ton Duc Thang Museum.

The roads of Nguyen Hue, Le Loi, Dong Khoi, and Le Duan, and Chi Lang Park will be highlighted with colours from December 17, 2010 to January 4, 2011.

Other art events will also be performed at the New Year festival.


Foreign funded projects approved

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a project for promoting natural disaster management, with US$900,000 non-refundable capital granted by the Global Capacity for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) under the World Bank (WB).

The PM also approved an additional project in promoting research capacity for legislation and information technology (IT) and communications for the Institute for Legislation Research under the National Assembly Standing Committee. 

This project was also financed by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) for the period of 2006-2011 with US$605,000 non-refundable capital.


December to be national action month for population

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung decided on November 29 that December will be chosen as the national action month for population.  

The organisation of an action month for population aims to raise public awareness of population and family planning for the health and happiness of every individual and family as well as sustainable development of the state.

The Prime Minister also asked the Ministry of Health to chair and work with other departments and agencies to build a detailed plan for the organisation of the action month.


Honouring Hanoi’s creativity

Hanoi’s Youth Union organised a ceremony on November 28 to honour the capital’s creative talents in 2010 and launch the 8th festival of creativity with the theme “Thang Long-Hanoi: integration and development”.

At the event, 18 outstanding young people, and 22 collectives and individuals were commended. Five other young people earned “gold hand” prizes, and 12 “administrative reform” models and 12 “civilized office” models were also honoured.

On the occasion, the organising board of the competition for creativity to honour the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi gave out two first prizes, 6 second prizes, 6 third prizes and 24 consolation prizes.   


VNN/VOV/VNS